Pretender
by Katrover Swatroad
Summary: An alien visitor claims to be a refugee seeking aid for his war-torn world. In reality, he plans to take Babylon 5 hostage and blackmail Earth! Will Sheridan and the others find out in time, before he cripples the station? Babylon 5 / Transformers


How long had it drifted through this orange eternity? One year, ten years, a hundred years? Impossible to tell, judging from appearances. Its dark grey surface sported no scratch or blemish – but it was a spacecraft, after all, and space provides no friction with which to provide datable wear and tear. Its shape was similarly vague. It looked like, off all things, a four-sided isosceles pyramid – but no known space-faring civilization featured starfighters which looked like role-playing die from Earth Year 1986.

The unknown spacecraft tumbled over and over in hyperspace, forlorn and forgotten. Perhaps its pilot is dead. Perhaps it had no pilot. Perhaps -

_Lo, a bright white flash._

With a blast of its thrusters, the fighter steadied itself and shot towards parts unknown. Guess its pilot – whoever he was - wasn't dead after all …

* * *

Commander Susan Ivanova was not having a good morning. No surprise. Lyta's revelation was still reeling in the minds of everyone involved.

How long has it been since Talia left? Two days. But it felt like two centuries. Once again, PSI Corps have ruined her life. It drove her mother to suicide, made her live her life in fear of discovery, and now killed her friend, in a sense – death of personality, a death almost as sickening as the real thing. _So the mole was Babylon 5's own resident telepath. I didn't think PSI Corps would sacrifice one of their own. _

"Good morning, Commander!" greeted Corwin.

"Good morning," mumbled Ivanova.

But was she blaming PSI Corps too strongly? If that creepy, freaky A. P. hadn't popped up, something else would have happened to wreck her friendship with Talia, anyway. Relationships never work out in the end, not for her. But she was EarthForce military, goddamn it, and _damned_ if she let personal woes stand in the way of her professional career!

"Good morning," repeated Ivanova, more brightly this time. Corwin smiled.

Ivanova peeked over her lieutenant's shoulder. "Odd, I thought there weren't any scheduled arrivals today."

"There isn't." Corwin pointed at something on his screen. Something was sitting in hyperspace … awaiting entrance to Babylon 5, perhaps? "Scanners just picked it out near the jump gate. The ship's … not doing anything right now."

_How odd._ "Does it match anything on our files?"

Corwin shook his head. "No. This is a completely unknown model. Scans show no life signs on board." He frowned, worried. "But it's sending out a distress signal. Want to hear it?"

One pressed button later, a very, very faint and mechanically distorted audio penetrated Command & Control. So garbled it was, in Susan's mind, it went like …

"Bah, I wan to weep, you ninny Borg?"

Corwin shrugged. "It repeats. It's pre-recorded."

_First contact situation?_ _No, no chance for contact. No life forms, but a distress signal. This means people inside are already ……._ "Send out Lieutenant Keffer to tow the ship in," Ivanova commanded somberly.

As she exited Command & Control to alert the captain, Ivanova inwardly sighed. All thoughts of Talia were washed away with those pitiful alien words. _Poor passengers. It was too late for them. The ship must have been pre-programmed to send out a distress signal in the vicinity of any jump gate. Meanwhile, they waited for rescue … for any rescue …_

_

* * *

_Keffer felt his eyes dry and his mind reel in disbelief as he neared the unknown spacecraft. _I would have sworn that … I mean, far away it looked like … did it just … what the hell!?_

This was no unknown alien spacecraft! It was a Starfury just like his own! It had thrusters just like his own, it had a cockpit just like his own … it was almost like looking into a mirror!

"Lieutenant Keffer to C&C," the pilot spoke into his receiver. "I think your scanning equipment needs a tune-up. It's no unknown craft, it's one of ours!"

"What?"

"Unknown spacecraft looks exactly like an Aurora-class Starfury, I swear it on my life," Keffer insisted. _One with a most boring paintjob_, he noted. _Dull grey. And … some alien face instead of the EarthForce logo. _At least the alien ship didn't mimic his Starfury completely. "I repeat, unknown spacecraft is an Aurora-class Starfury … with a very ugly paintjob."

"What?" Corwin repeated over his radio. The voice sounded stupefied. "That can't be."

"Never mind," came Commander Ivanova's voice. "Just grab the ship."

At least that task was no mental matter. Only one try was needed. "Success. I'm bringing it in." _We'll see what it really is – alien ship or Earth ship – when we inspect it at Babylon 5._

_

* * *

_"Evil mirror universe twin?" hypothesized Sheridan.

"Let's find out," replied Garibaldi.

With a contingent of his men, Garibaldi, Franklin, and Sheridan set out to see the strange ship in the hangar. Whatever it was, they were prepared for it. According to C&C, the ship was devoid of living passengers – still, that report may be wrong, and Franklin's medical expertise may come in handy.

"Déjà vu," Franklin whispered to Garibaldi.

"Hmm?"

"Don't you remember? A few days ago, when Lyta Alexander arrived on the station? We were running down the hallway, just like now."

"Huh … you don't say."

* * *

_Hey ... ! Lookie here! Humans! Aren't you gonna say hi to the humans?_

_I'm scared ..._

_Scared? You're the one who wanted to see them!_

_Yeah, but ... now, I'm nervous. What if I fail?_

_Aw, come on! Don't change your mind after coming all this way! Oh look, one of them seems to be pointing at you! He looks like the one in charge! You can't back out now._

_Yikes ..._

_Why don't you say hi to the leader one? Say, "Hi, Leader-One!"_

_... ... ... ..._

_Aw, screw this. I'm leaving. Alright, youngling, you're on your own. I'm outta here! Be a good boy for the humans!_

_Wait! You can't leave! I need you to - aw, slag. Okay, Cloud ... you can do this ... _

There was a strange, choppy, mechanical noise. It made the humans flinch at once. Only Sheridan didn't flinch. He knew what the noise meant. He suspected the spacecraft's true nature the instant he saw its logos.

"Everyone," he yelled. "Stay back!"  
_  
_The screeching, whirling, and clicking continued, as the strange spacecraft ... transformed. Thrusters swung down and became functional legs, or swung back and became ornamental wings. Arms unfolded from shifting metal. The cockpit compressed and shrank into a vague-looking torso. A head appeared and said, "Um ... hi?"

All humans except Sheridan simultaneously took one step back.

_Now or never_, Cloud thought to himself. "Baa weep grahna weep ninny bong!" he announced. Surely, the humans knew the universal greeting?

No, they didn't.

"My name is Cloudcover, and I come from the planet Cybertron!" he continued. Or stammered. "I - I, I … um, may I see all the ambassadors on board? Especially the one from Earth, please?"


End file.
